The Cowboys left Sunday looking every bit like a team in trouble, then watched the NFC East hand them a lifeline anyway.
Dallas was already licking its wounds after a miserable outing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game in which an undrafted quarterback beat them even though the Bucs were 8.5-point underdogs. The defense was bad again, the offense joined the pileup, and it felt like the season was slipping fast.
Then the rest of the division stepped in and made things messy.
It began in London, where the Philadelphia Eagles found a way to throw away a late lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After taking a field goal with eight seconds left, Nick Sirianni made a brutal decision by kicking the ball in the field of play, giving Jaguars returner Ameer Abdullah a chance to run it back. He did exactly that, and the return set up Cam Little’s game-winning kick.
The Jaguars had no timeouts, so their path was basically closed off already. But Sirianni’s choice kept the door open, and Philadelphia walked through it in the worst possible way.
That loss only added to a rough stretch for the Eagles. The three points they scored with eight seconds left were the only points they managed in the second half over their last three games combined.
They also lost important pieces of their offensive line this past week, whether through retirement or trade, and they were without a couple of key offensive weapons because of injury. Right now, their outlook is murky.
The Giants and Commanders did not exactly seize the moment either. New York came into the week at 3-1, but it had already lost starting quarterback Jaxson Dart for the season.
That left plenty of the load on Jameis Winston. Washington was 1-3 and had Jayden Daniels back, but even with him available, the problems were obvious.
Then the two teams met and somehow both let the game slip away.
The Giants had a real chance to close it out in overtime, driving deep into Washington territory before Cam Skattebo fumbled and gave the Commanders new life. All New York had to do was protect the ball and get the winning field goal. Instead, it went up in smoke.
Washington then answered with a drive that looked like it would finish the job. But with Daniels scrambling and time draining away, the Commanders showed no urgency despite having no timeouts. They never got themselves into position for a simple chip-shot winner, and time ran out before anyone could score.
So after all that, the division still belongs to nobody. The Eagles keep sliding.
The Giants and Commanders each had a shot and blew it. And if Dallas can get its own house in order, the Cowboys are still right there with a real opening to take the NFC East because the rest of the room keeps tripping over itself.
In Other News...
Stephen A. Smith Just Added Fuel To An Ugly Dak Prescott Debate
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Anthony Spencer Had A Cowboys Career Fans Still Wonder About
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Spencers story still carries the what-if feeling that follows so many promising Cowboys careers. He reached the Pro Bowl in 2012 and flashed the kind of production that suggested even more could have been ahead, but the injuries that followed changed the arc of what had been a steady ascent. For a player associated with both impact and unfinished business, No. 93 has stayed memorable in Dallas in a way that goes beyond the numbers. [Read more 🡒]